Structural or architectural walls and panels are often formed of blocks of various types. These blocks may be referred to generically as "masonry blocks" and include such items as bricks, glass blocks, cinder blocks, tiles and the like.
The walls so formed from these masonry blocks may be curved or straight. In either instance, particularly where mortar is applied between the blocks as they are being assembled in stacked rows, a significant level of skill is required to properly space and align the blocks with respect to each other. Without the aid of various tools, including spacers, considerable time may be consumed in building the intended structure. Certain previously employed spacers, furthermore, have not always achieved their full intended purpose. For example, they may be unduly complex or time consuming to install, too insecure to establish consistent spacing, too disruptive of the mortar so as to require undue finishing time, too costly, and/or non-removable, thereby preventing the wall from having an Underwritten Laboratory fire rating approval.
Exemplary of known tools for use in building walls of masonry block and various other uses, are the devices disclosed in the following prior art references:
______________________________________ U.S. Pat. No.: 4,114,337 3,396,936 4,774,793 4,239,173 4,408,398 3,199,205 2,797,495 2,227,842 3,290,712 4,054,258 4,793,068 3,735,497 4,959,937 3,010,213 1,293,391 4,277,927 1,765,664 2,930,135 ______________________________________
Attention is also directed to Pittsburgh Corning, "PC Glass Block Spacers" Data Sheet 11/88 referencing U.S. Pat. No. 4,114,337.
One prior art spacer tool which has been found particularly advantageous for use in building structural panels or walls of glass block and the like is shown in FIG. 6. This tool is more fully disclosed in my co-pending application Ser. No. 07/561,195 filed Aug. 1, 1990, entitled GLASS BLOCK SPACING TOOL AND METHOD, and now U.S. Pat. No. 5,119,567. The disclosure of this co-pending application is incorporated herein by reference.
The preferred embodiment of my previous spacer, as shown in the drawings of, and as described in, the aforesaid co-pending application (and with reference to FIG. 6 herein) includes a pair of opposing plate-like base members (A, A') having opposite, opposing faces. Projecting inwardly from base members A, A' are four pin-like projections B (only 3 shown for each plate-like base member). These projections are arranged so that they project into the mortar C between the blocks D without displacing any significant portion of the mortar thus requiring, at worst, only very simple and quick finishing after the spacer is removed.
Extending between each base member A, A', there is a wire cross-member E which is sufficiently thin so as not to displace a significant portion of the mortar. This wire cross-member E extends through apertures F, F' located in the lower half and horizontal center of each of the base members A, A'. By bending wire E after installation the base members A, A' are tightly secured together. Apertures F, F' serve as convenient handles for removing the spacer tool after breaking off the end of wire E.
My aforesaid co-pending application also disclosed a unique prior art method for using the spacer disclosed therein for laying up a block wall. Generally speaking, this method included applying wet mortar to the upwardly facing and vertical edges of a first course of blocks, assembling a pair of the opposing plate with its cross-member, pressing the assembly into the wet applied mortar so as to locate one of the four pin-like projections and the cross-member in the mortar of a vertical joint between the blocks and so that two of the four pin-like projections were pressed into the wet mortar located on the upwardly facing horizontal edges of the blocks, and so that the remaining pin-like projection was spaced above the course for horizontally spacing apart blocks in the next course to be laid.
In this configuration the cross-member wire after crimping cooperated to hold the system in proper spatial alignment while a second course of blocks on the mortar-coated edges was laid on the first course. By repeating this operation until the wall was complete, proper spatial alignment in the entire wall was achieved. Then, before the mortar set, the spacers including, if desired, the cross-member, was removed with minimal dislocation of mortar. Simple tooling of the mortar joints smoothed out any impressions left by the four pin-like projections and/or the thin wire cross-member.
In certain forms of my above-described prior art spacer tool I also provided means for making curved surfaces. This included using the aforesaid spacer tool in association with sleeves inserted over opposite pairs of the spacer pins of the spacers. This achieved, in a given sleeved spacer, the presentation of the pins in a greater diameter than those of the opposing spacer. Accordingly, curvature was accomplished. For example, by providing sleeves on one side of the wall on the two vertically aligned pins, the wall can be caused to curve about a vertical axis. By using a sleeve on the two horizontally aligned pins, the wall is curved about a horizontal axis.
My above-described prior art spacer tool constituted a significant and advantageous improvement in the art. However, further improvement is virtually always possible in any field of endeavor and that has turned out to be true here. For example, while the use of a crimpable wire as the cross-member in my prior spacer worked well if properly crimped in the field by the worker, if it prematurely broke off or was not crimped tightly enough, non-optimal cross-membering could occur. In addition, the base plates employed, in addition to four pin-like projections on one side of the plate, a separate elongated projection requiring a thin aperture hole to be formed therein to accommodate the cross-member, on the opposite side of each plate. A less complex arrangement which achieved all of the advantages of my prior spacer tool, but which overcame the problems attendant the use of a wire cross-member, would therefore be desirable. Thus, there arose a need in the art for just such a system.
It is a purpose of this invention to fulfill this and other needs in the art which will become more apparent to the skilled artisan once given the following disclosure.